1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of mobile chairs to be used to transport the occupant across the ground and as a seat in a motor vehicle, as well as a comfortable stationary chair for sitting.
2. Background of the Invention
Those people who have lost the ability to stand and walk, either temporarily or permanently, usually wish to remain a part of active society and move about on their own terms. If their condition limits them to a sitting position, some type of wheelchair is necessary for independent movement. The motorized wheelchair reduces the physical effort for locomotion allowing a wider range of travel. This conventional wheel chair presents certain obstacles to freedom of movement, most notably, caused by an abrupt change in elevation of the surface over which the wheelchair is traveling. Of course, the problem of stair steps or building access has been addressed by legislative action. However, obstacles still remain in situations where the wheelchair must interact with other forms of transportation. This is especially true in relation to private vehicular transportation.
Further, the conventional wheelchair is not suited for regular seating in an automobile and this requires the user to change from the wheelchair to the car seat. Conversely, extensive modifications of an automobile must be completed before a conventional wheelchair can be used in a car. Each of these options has it""s obvious drawbacks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,272 issued to Suehiro et al discloses a wheelchair and lift mechanism to be used with an automobile. As shown, the automobile has a deeply recessed door sill, much like a van, with a lifting mechanism mounted at a substantially higher level inside the vehicle. The lifting mechanism has a movable base that slides toward the door sill. The lifting mechanism has arms that engage each side of the back of the chair and pivot upwardly to lift the chair to the level of the floor pan. As the chair is lifted, the wheels retract and rotate laterally to reduce the depth of the undercarriage to accommodate the chair so that it approximates a seat in the vehicle. The size of the lifting mechanism and the under-the-seat space occupied restricts the thickness of the seat because of the limited head room in the vehicle. The chair is drawn into the van by a worm gear or other mechanism mounted on the movable base of the lift mechanism. The chair is latched in the base and the base is rotated to face the chair forward in the vehicle.
Logan, U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,614, teaches the use of a ramp to provide access for a wheelchair into a mini-van. The wheelchair has an adjustable frame to accommodate the passenger and the head room in the interior of the van.
Another lifting mechanism and wheelchair is taught by Jones et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,465, in which a user can move from a wheelchair located outside the vehicle to the driver""s seat. In this arrangement, the driver""s seat is mounted on a pivot post built into the car along the rear edge of the door opening. The seat is powered to pivot inwardly and outwardly about the pivot post and move vertically to adjust the car seat level with the wheelchair.
A turn table mounted on rails in the vehicle is disclosed in Ladetto et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,884. The turn table rotates a vehicle seat from facing forward to facing the door to aid in getting in a van.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,653 to Waite discloses another chair and lift mechanism for loading a wheelchair into a vehicle. This system uses a door post for raising the wheelchair for entry into the auto. The wheels of the wheelchair are retracted into the sides of the seat in a converging orientation to reduce the footprint of the seat inside the vehicle.
All these conventional systems are very complicated, particularly in the lifting and landing gear-like devices, for stowing the wheelchair wheels. And the lifting mechanisms impinge on the design of the chair.
What is needed in the art is a mechanically elegant and comfortable chair, in the nature of a bucket seat found in some luxury automobiles, that may be occupied for long periods of time and used as a wheelchair or an automobile seat. An occupant of such a chair would not be forced to leave his/her seat for car travel or independent locomotion and other normal activities. Further, the chair requires a simple dock mounted in the auto, without extensive modification of the auto, for proper placement of the seat within the automobile.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a chair and dock system for use in a passenger automobile in which the docking mechanism requires little modification to an existing automobile and the chair is quite similar to other seating in the car.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a very comfortable chair that is wheeled. The wheels are powered, preferably, though non-powered wheels may be used. The wheels are also retractable to reduce the height of the chair. The sitting position of the chair is adjustable by movement of the back and seat relative to each other. The wheelchair is in the nature of a luxury seat found in automobiles and airplanes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rotating dock for supporting and securing the chair in the vehicle. The dock is adapted to be mounted on the floor pan of an automobile and will rotate at least 90 degrees from a normal seating orientation, relative to a car, to a side facing position.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a flexible drive system in the nature of a chain and sprocket system on the dock to move the chair relative to the dock.
Other objectives and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.